Transfer mechanism



June 27, 1950 w. c. HODGES TRANSFER MECHANISM s Sheeis-Sheet 1 Filed March 29, 1948 INVENTOR.

C.HO

At formeys June 27, 1950 w, c, o s I 2,512,798

' TRANSFER MECHANISM Filed March 29, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR. William 0. Hodges.

Ai'tbrneys June 27, 1950 Filed March 29, 1948 w. c. HODGES 2,512,798

TRANSFER MECHANISM '3 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR.

Al'i'onzeys.

guides of the supporting or transportation means carrying the bridging elements so that such elements may be freely withdrawn from or retracted into such guides.

Another object is to provide such mechanism in which simple mechanical means such as a simple cable and drum "powered by one of the supporting or transportation means is utilized to move the container during transfer.

Another object is to provide such mechanism which will permit the supporting or transportation means to be used for other cargoes when not in use with cargo carrying containers.

Another object is to provide such mechanism which requires minimum reconstruction of or structural changes or additions to known sup porting or transportation means.

Another object is to provide such mechanism which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and install; which is simple and eflicient in operation; and which may be used with any known type of supporting or transportation means.

Other and further objects of my invention will appear from the following description.

My invention is capable of various mechanical embodiments and can be used with any known types of supports or transportation. One embodiment of my invention is shown in the accompanying drawings and is described hereinafter as applied to known means of transportation, say a trailer of a trailer truck and a railroad fiat car. to illustrate my invention. This illustrative embodiment of my invention should in no way be construed as defining or limiting the same and reference should be had to the appended claims for this purpose.

In the several drawings, in which like reference characters designate like parts:

Fig. lis a view of one embodiment of my invention as applied to a flat trailer of a trailer truck and to a railroad flat car showing the container being transferred from the trailer to car with a part of both the container and the trailer cut away to show the cable and drum mechanism for moving the container; i Fig. 2 is an enlargeddetail of Fig. 1 showing an articulated bridging element in extended position mounted in a guide on the trailer;

' .Fig. 2a is a continuation of Fig. 2 showing the means for attaching the bridging element to the guide on the fiat car; g a Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view of the embodiment of Fig. 1 on the line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a side View of that part of the embodiment of Fig. I seen in Fig. 2a;

Fig. 5 is a cross sectional elevation on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2a; and

Fig. 6 is a view from above of that part of the embodiment of Fig. 1 as seen in Fig. 2a.

Referring to the drawings, a suitable container of any desired size, and preferably of such size that two can be transported on a standard railroad fiat car, is generally indicated at H). A flat trailer of a trailer truck for transporting container I0 is partially and generally indicated at H, and a part of a suitable railroad flat car is indicated at |2. Container I0 rests upon its bottom |3 upon trailer II or car l2 when in transportation and may be secured thereto by any suitable means not here shown. Container 10 is raised for transfer from the trailer to the car or vice versa by wheeled jacks generally indicated at H and suitably and dismountably secured one at each corner of container Ill. The exact construction of jacks 4 forms no part of this invention and jacks l4 may be actuated by suitable mechanical or hydraulic means here shown as hydraulic including a cylinder l5 and piston l6. Piston It carries wheel fork I! at its lower end and peripherally grooved wheel I8 is rotatably mounted therein, the peripheral groove being indicated at l9.

Wheels 8 ride in and'are aligned by a pair of parallel guides on trailer generally indicated at 20 which guides may be let transversely into the deck of trailer II or may be supported on the surface thereof. As best seen in Figs. 2 and 3 guides 20 include a hollow channel member 2| suitably secured in the deck of trailer II and having a truncated V-shaped cross section provided with inturned parallel and oppositely disposed shoulders 22 and 23 at the open end of the V. Tracks 24 and 25 of generally S-shaped cross section are suitably secured to and are carried by shoulders 22 and 23 respectively. Inner and inturned surfaces 26 and 21 of tracks 24 and 25 respectively are engaged by treads 28 and 29 respectively of wheels l8. Tracks 24 and 25 are supported and spaced within channel 2| by spacers 30 and 3| respectively. The ends of surfaces 26 and 21 may be provided with ramps 32 and 33 respectively for purposes which will more fully appear hereinafter.

Bridging elements, generally indicated at 34 and 35 (Fig. l), are slidably mounted in guides 20 and may be of any suitable cross sectional shape here shown as having a base 36, web 31 and a truncated wheel engaging surface 38 shaped to fit the peripheral grooves |9 of wheels l8. The overall height of bridging elements 34 and 35 from the underside of base 36 to the top of surface 38 is such that when wheels l8 ride upon surfaces 25 and 21 peripheral grooves IQ of wheels l8 will not bear upon surfaces 38 and there will be a suitable clearance therebetween. Each bridging element 34 and 35 is made up of a plurality of articue lated elements including a center element 39 and elements 40, 4| and 42 articulated thereto on one end and elements 40a, Ma and 42a articulated thereto on the other end for the particular purpose. Element 39 is never completely withdrawn from guides 20 and is provided on each side with pressure shoes 43 and 44 pivotally mounted on web 31 at 45. Shoes 43 and 44 are provided with elongated bearing surfaces 46 and 41 respectively engaging the undersides of surfaces 21 and 26 respectively to keep element 39 in position within guide 20. Element 39 is pivoted to element 40 by vertically disposed pivot 48 and to element 40a by pivot 48a; element 40 is pivoted to element 4| by horizontally disposed pivot 49; and element 4| is pivoted to element 42 by vertically disposed pivot 50. Elements 4|a and 42a are similarly pivoted. Element 42 is provided with an extending finger 5| to engage the surface of car 2 and finger 5| is cut away at 52 to form a ramp for reasons which will more fully appear hereinafter. Element 42 is vertically slotted at 53 (Fig. 4). Element 42a has a similar finger and slot (not shown). With this construction the articulated bridging elements may be withdrawn from either side of trailer Truncated wheel engaging surface 38 may be reduced in width adjacent the vertical pivots 43, 48a and 50, as at 38a and 38b to prevent binding of the wheels at these pivots when there is 0011-. siderable angularity between the bridging elements.

Car I2 is provided with a pair of transversely extending channel shaped guide rails 54 and 55 which extend parallel to each other and. which are suitably spaced apart to receive wheels H! on opposite ends of container 10. Guides 54 and 55 are suitably secured to car l2 as by extensible end elements 56 which have downwardly turned flanges 5'! and 58 which embrace a bracket 59 Se cured to the side of car 12, the assembly being secured together by pin 60. Pin 60 may be readily removed and may be retained against loss by a cord or chain 6! secured to car I2 at E2.

Trailer G i is provided with a conventional pair of winding drums 63 and 64 driven byconventional drive shaft 65 and controlled by cnperatine lever 66, all in known manner. U-shaped brackets 61 and 6B are let into and are secured in opposite edges of the deck of trailer ll. T-shaped pulley arms 59 and lil are pivoted in brackets 61 and 68 respectively and each rotatably supports a pair of sheaves H and i2. Rollers '13 are rotatably mounted at the inner and lower edges of brackets iii and 65. Stop pins M may be used to limit the movement of arms 69 and it}. Dead head pulley 15 carried by angles 15 and arm I? may be pivoted at it to one edge of car i2 and arm i! may be supported against lateral movement when in raised position by horns 18. Drum 63 carries cable 80 which passes over roller 73 in bracket 61; then over sheave H on arm '69; around dead head pulley i5; and then back across car IE to container ill where it is secured adjacent the bottom thereof by a suitable connection 81. Drum 5 3 carries cable 62 wound oppositely to cable 85 on drum 63. Cable 82 passes over roller '13 in bracket 66; then over sheave l2; and is then suitably secured at 83 to container I adjacent its bottom on the opposite side from connection 8!.

With this embodiment of my invention organ ized as above described assume that container ill is resting upon trailer i l and it is desired to transfor container in to fiat car i2. Trailer E i is then positioned beside car i2 but it is not necessary that the two be at the same level or that guides 25 are aligned with guides '3 and 55. Jacks M are then attached to the corners of container l0 and wheels 58 are extended into guides 20. Ca-

, wheels.

bles 8!] and 332 are rigged as described above and I attached to container in at GE and 83 respectively, Bridging elements 34 and 35 are now withdrawn from guides 20, no pressure being exerted on these elements by wheels ii! at this time, and the sevoral articulated elements 35, til, ll and 32 are moved about their respective pivots until fingers 5! can rest upon the deck of car 52 within channels 54 and 55. Pins 65 are then inserted through flanges 5? and '58, bracket 59 and slot to lock bridging elements 3 1 and 35 to car 12. Elements 39 of the bridging elements are retained in guides 28 by pressure shoes 43 and M and are free to slide therein if movement of either the trailer or the car takes place when the container is moved.

Jacks M may now be actuated to raise container Hi off of trailer ii to support its entire weight on wheels i8. Drums and B5 are now energized, drum 53 being rotated to take in cable BI) and drum 5%, being oppositely wound, unreels cable 82 thus providing complete control of container '1 ll during movement. Winding up of cable 88 moves container iii on wheels i8 toward car i2 and wheels iii and the movement of container in are guided and controlled by guides 2i As the nearest pair of wheels i8 reach the end of guides 25 they roll down ramps -32 and 33 and onto bridging elements 34 and 35, grooves iii 'of wheels is receiving surface 38 of elements't's.

Part of the weight of container 10 i new sunported by the bridging elements. Further movement of container 10 toward car 12, is guided by the engagement oi wheels l8 with the bridging elements until the nearest pair of wheels l8 rides down ramps 52, formed on the ends of fingers 5| and into guide channels 55 and 55 which guide movement of wheels is and container in across car l2. Movement of container H) is continued until the rear Wheels i8 thereof have passed down ramps 32 and s3, across brid ing elements 3.4 and 35 and down off ramps 52 into channels 54 and 5.5 and until container I0 is centered on car 12. Jacks l4 are then actuated to lower container 11! so that its bottom 13 rests upon car l2. Jacks 14 may then be removed or may be left on cantainer has is desired.

When container in is to be moved from car it to trailer ll, trailer I l is positioned beside cal. 12, it not being necessary to position trailer 1H exactly either longitudinally or in elevation. Bridging elements 3.4 and 35 are exended and the several elements thereof are moved on their pivots until fingers 5| rest on car i2 within channels 54 and 55 and pins 60 are inserted. Jacks M are then actuated to raise container Ill from car i2 and cables '80 and B2 are rigged as above described. Drums 6'3 and 54 are now energized so that drum M winds in cable 82 and drum 6 3 1111- winds cable thus affording complete control of the movement of container l0. Container I0 is then moved on wheels t8 toward trailer H,.

channels "54 and 55 directing the movement .of wheels 18. As the first pair of wheels i8 reach fingers 15! they engage and ride up ramps 52 onto bridging elements 34 and 35 where track surfaces 38ers engaged by grooves IE to guide wheels 18 and container iii in movement across the bridg ing elements. As the first pair of wheels reach trailer H they enter and ride up ramps 32 and 33 :of surfaces 27 and 26 thus relieving the bridg ing elements of the weight carried by these Movement of container to is continued until all wheelsifi have crossed the bridging elee ments and container I0 is centered on trailer H with all wheels it! carried by surfaces 26 and .21 with no weight being exerted on the bridging elee ments. Jacks M are now actuated to lower container I0 onto trailer ll. Cables 80 and :82 may now be u-nrove and pins 60 are withdrawn :to permit bridging elements 3 3 and 35 to be slid into guides 25 into retracted position. Trailer 1 is now ready to transport container Hi.

As noted above any suitable type of support.- ing or transportation means may be used with this invention. The container ii) may be moved from one truck to another; from one railroad flat car to another; from an aeroplane to a truck or from a truck to an aeroplane; from a truck or railroad car .to a barge or vice versa; and so on through all combinations of means for transporting the container. The container may also be moved from the ground to any suitable transporting means or from platforms, floors or any other suitable support for the container to such transporting means. Further it is not critical to this invention which transportation means carries drums 63 and. 64 and this power may even be supplied from a. source separate from either transportation means.

it will now be apparent that the present invention provides novel mechanisms for the transfer of containers from one means of support or transportation to another, which employs articulated bridging elements to connect the supporting or transportation means; which employs transverse guides on each supporting or transportation means; in which the container is provided with wheels to engage in the transverse guides and to engage the bridging elements during movement of the container; in which the wheels of the container are preferably carried by removable jacks and are peripherally grooved to engage the articulated bridging elements; in which the articulated bridging elements are slidably mounted in the transverse guides of one Of the supporting or transportation means to be carried in retracted position therein when not in use; in which the bridging elements are formed of a plurality of elements articulated together by horizontal and vertically disposed pivots to bridge the space between the supporting or transportation means when such means are at different elevations or otherwise out of alignment; in which the wheels supporting the container do not engage the bridging elements rwhen positioned in the guides of the supporting or transportation means carrying the bridging elements so that such elements may be freely withdrawn from or retracted into such guides; in which simple means such as cable and drum means are utilized to move the container during transfer; which requires a minimum of reconstruction, structural changes or additions to known supporting or transportation means; which permits use of supporting or transportation means with other cargoes; and which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and install; which is simple and efficient in operation and which may be used with any known types of supporting or transportation means.

' Changes to or modifications of the above described illustrative embodiment of my invention may now be suggested to those skilled in the art without departing from my inventive concept. As an example, this invention may be readily adapted to transfer the container when the transportation means are arranged in end-toend relationship with each other or with the supporting means rather than in side-lby-side relationship as above described. Reference should therefore be had to the appended claims to determine the scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a transfer mechanism as described including two supporting means and a wheeled container to be transferred from one supporting means to the other, wheel guides carried by one of the supporting means and articulated bridging elements comprising a. plurality of elements united by alternate horizontal and vertical pivots for bridging the space between the supporting means slidably mounted in said guides.

2. A mechanism as described in claim 1 in which each of said wheel guides includes a channel member having a truncated V-shaped cross section and a pair of spaced parallel wheel engaging surfaces supported within said channel member, the articulated bridging element extending upwardly between said wheel engaging surfaces.

3. A mechanism as described in claim 1 in which each of said wheel guides includes a channel member. a pair of spaced parallel wheel engaging surfaces supported within said channel member and ramps formed at the ends of said wheel engaging surfaces, the articulated bridging element extending upwardly between said wheel engaging surfaces.

.. 4. A mechanism as described in claim 1 in which each of said wheel guides includes a channel member, a pair of spaced parallel wheel engaging surfaces supported within said channel member, the articulated bridging element extending upwardly between said wheel engaging surfaces and pressure elements pivoted to said articulated bridging element and engaging the under surfaces of said wheel engaging surfaces.

5. A mechanism as described in claim 1 in which each of said articulated bridging elements includes a plurality of relatively short elements pivoted to each other about pivots which are alternately vertically and horizontally disposed.

6. A mechanism as described in claim 1 in which each of said articulated bridging elements includes a plurality of relatively short elements pivoted to each other about vertically and horizontally disposed pivots and a finger formed on the end of one of said short elements to engage and rest upon the other of the supporting means.

7. A mechanism as described in claim 1 in which each of said articulated bridging elements includes a finger formed on the end thereof to engage and rest upon the other of the supporting means and a ramp formed on the end of said finger.

8. A mechanism as described in claim 1 in which each of said articulated bridging elements includes a base slidably mounted in said wheel guides, a truncated wheel engaging rail and a vertically disposed web connecting said base and said rail.

9. A mechanism as described in claim 1 in which each of said wheel guides includes a channel member and a pair of spaced parallel wheel engaging surfaces supported within said channel member, and in which each of said articulated bridging elements includes a base slidably mounted in said channel member, a truncated wheel engaging rail and a vertically disposed web connecting said base and said rail, said truncated rail extending upwardly between said wheel engaging surfaces and pressure elements pivoted to said web and engaging the under surfaces of said wheel engaging surfaces.

10. A mechanism as described in claim 1 in which each of said articulated bridging elements includes a plurality of relatively short elements pivoted to each other about vertically and horizontally disposed pivots, each of said relatively short elements having a base for sliding engagement within said wheel guides, a wheel engaging rail, and a vertically disposed web joining said base and said rail.

11. In a transfer mechanism as described including two supporting means and a container supported during transfer by peripherally grooved wheels, channel wheel guides recessed into one of the supporting means, spaced parallel wheel supporting surfaces carried within each of said channels, and articulated bridging elements to be received in the peripheral grooves of the wheels slidably mounted in said channels between said surfaces to bridge the space between the supporting means.

12. A mechanism as described in claim 11 in which said supporting surfaces and said articulated bridging elements are constructed and arranged so that said articulated bridging elements are not engaged by the Wheels when the wheels bear upon said supporting surfaces.

13. A mechanism as described in claim 11 includin ramps formed in the ends of said supporting surfaces whereby the peripherally grooved wheels are lowered to engage said articulated bridging elements.

14. A transfer mechanism as described comprising supporting means, a container carried by said supporting means, wheels supporting said container during transfer, channel Wheel guides recessed in said supporting means receiving said wheels, articulated bridging elements slidably mounted beneath said wheels in said channels, a second supporting means, means for securing one end of each of said articulated bridging elements to said second supporting means, channel wheel guides on said second supporting means and drum and cable means for moving said container across said bridging elements onto said second supporting means.

15. A transfer mechanism as described comprising transportation means, a container carried by said transportation means, wheels supporting said container during transfer, channel Wheel guides recessed in said transportation means receiving said wheels, spaced parallel surfaces carried in said channels supporting said wheels, articulated bridging elements slidably mounted beneath said wheels in said channels between said surfaces, container supporting means, means for securing one end of each of said articulated bridging elements to said supporting means, and mechanical means for moving said container across said bridging elements onto said supporting means.

16 A mechanism for connecting two container supporting devices to transfer a wheeled container including wheel guides recessed into one of the supporting devices, and articulated bridging elements alternately joined by horizontal and vertical pivots for connecting the two supporting devices slidably mounted in said guides.

17. A mechanism as described in claim 16 in which each of said wheel guides includes a channel member and a pair of spaced parallel wheel engaging surfaces supported within said channel member, the articulated bridging element extending upwardly between said Wheel engaging surfaces.

18. A mechanism as described in claim 16 in which each of said Wheel guides includes a channel member, a pair of spaced parallel Wheel engaging surfaces supported within said channel member, the articulated bridging element extending upwardly between said wheel engaging surfaces, and pressure elements pivoted to said articulated bridging element and engaging the under surfaces of said wheel engaging surfaces.

19. A mechanism as described in claim 16 in which each of said articulated bridging elements includes a plurality of relatively short elements pivoted to each other about pivots which are alternately vertically and horizontally disposed.

20. A mechanism as described in claim 16 in which each of said articulated bridging elements includes a base slidably mounted in said wheel guides, a truncated Wheel engaging rail, and a vertically disposed web connecting said base and said rail.

WILLIAM C. HODGES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 772,671 Reid Oct. 18, 1904 1,835,133 Bergen, Jr Dec. 8, 1931 1,921,605 Canfield Aug. 8, 1933 2,004,095 Hankins et a1 June 11, 1935 2,150,371 Furnish Mar. 14, 1939 2,304,115 Norbom Dec. 8, 1942 

